The Indianapolis Colts (7-4) came into Sunday’s game against the Tennessee Titans (8-3) extremely short-handed, and it showed in the 45-26 beatdown at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Colts were already entering this game without linebacker Bobby Okereke (ankle) and center Ryan Kelly (neck), both of which were ruled out due to injuries.
Then the Colts had to go without running back Jonathan Taylor along with starting defensive linemen DeForest Buckner and Denico Autry, all three of which were on the reserve/COVID-19 list for the game. Taylor was a close contact while Buckner and Autry tested positive.
This was already a problem for the Colts at the start of the game. Then things got much worse when starting left tackle Anthony Castonzo went down with a knee injury. It isn’t clear how severe the injuries is, but it appears he’s dealing with an MCL-related injury.
The Colts were extremely short-handed on both sides of the ball, and this was part of the reason the Titans were able to dominate the line of scrimmage. Titans running back Derrick Henry had 140 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone while the Colts couldn’t get the run game going, and Philip Rivers was under pressure all day long.
The Titans gained 449 yards of total offense and 229 yards on the ground, the latter of which was the most the Colts have allowed all season. They averaged 6.6 yards per play and were 4 of 5 (80%) in the red zone.
The Colts have to turn around and visit the Houston Texans (4-7) in Week 13 as they look to get back into the AFC playoff race.
